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Toronto's West End will soon see a seven-storey affordable rental and senior assisted-living facility by CreateTO and Magellan Community Charities at 640 Lansdowne Avenue. The project, to be known as the Magellan Centre, has been approved through the City’s ‘Open Door Program’, to accelerate affordable housing construction by providing City financial contributions including capital funding and fees and property tax relief, fast-tracking planning approvals, and activating surplus lands. The Magellan Centre will bring 57 affordable housing rental units for seniors and 256 long term care (LTC) beds to the community.
The site, owned by the TTC, is located at the northwest corner of Lansdowne Avenue and Paton Road, 260m north of Bloor Street. The leased lands, currently vacant, comprise the eastern third of the site and have an area of 5,205m² with frontages of 153m on Lansdowne Road and 34m on Paton Road.
Designed by Snyder Architects, the new seven-storey mixed-use building will feature 256 LTC beds, 47 affordable rental units, 10 market rental apartments, and five small-scale retail units. It will be operated by Magellan who will offer culturally sensitive care to aging members of Portuguese-Canadian communities.
The new building’s combined gross floor area is 20,418m², which is comprised of 14,264m² of LTC GFA, 4,855m² of affordable housing GFA and 200m² of retail GFA, resulting in a total density of 3.9 times the area of the Leased Lands (or 1.3 times the total site).
Fronting Lansdowne, the long, rectangular mid-rise building is articulated to break up the length and massing of the building. Situated mid-block is an alcove at the main entrance, and a pedestrian connection designed to connect west to future development on site. A stepback above the third floor strengthens the base of the building. The building is set back at the corner of Lansdowne Avenue and Paton Road to provide for a landscaped plaza with outdoor seating.
Located near the centre of the building is the main entrance, flanked by five retail units. The remainder of the ground-floor is comprised of amenity spaces, such as bicycle storage, a multi-purpose room, and wellness spaces, or operational uses. A small outdoor area in the westerly portion will be used by the LTC residents.
Distributed across the 2nd and 3rd levels are the 57 apartment dwelling units: 43 one-bedroom and 14 two-bedroom units. Dedicated staff spaces, such as dining rooms, kitchens, training rooms and boardrooms, are located on the third floor.
Of the 256 LTC beds, 32 private and 32 basic beds are located on the fourth through seventh storeys, as well as a servery, lounges, and activity rooms. [Basic LTC beds share a washroom between two bed-sitting units, while the private beds have private washrooms]. Two Resident Home Area units are also located on each of the four floors.
A total of 646m² of indoor amenity space is split between the ground and the second floor, and 222m² of outdoor amenity space is located on the second floor.
The building has no below-grade levels. It will be serviced by two new driveways, one located off Lansdowne Avenue, and the other off Paton Road. The building will be flanked by two surface parking areas with a total of 32 vehicular spaces. A total of 54 secure bicycle spaces are provided on the ground level with 13 short-term exterior spaces situated to serve the retail uses.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been republished with more up-to-date renderings.
| Related Companies: | Bousfields, Quasar Consulting Group |
